angelofboox

I really like these books! I read The Amulet of Samarkand at the recommendation of a friend, and didn't have high hopes - but couldn't put it down! I think a lot of bad children's fantasy got published that year and it sort of got lost among that. One thing that's really good about it is that it never seems to talk down to the reader (presumably child).

So far, the bets are that it's some sort of mmorpg. I'd like it if it were another/more short stories, like that brief thing she did about James and Sirius!

They're certainly nothing like how I imagined the characters...but depends, maybe the whole movie pulls it off?

Finally finished Something Rotten! I enjoyed it much more than Lost In A Good Book, I think, though can't put my finger on why. Also didn't notice the [relevance of] the title until I was about halfway through. Silly me! What are your thoughts on First Among Sequels? Should I read it sooner rather than later?

I read the book for a book club some time ago, and I quite liked it. Not my favourite book in the world, but it was enjoyable and generated some interesting discussion.

Ooh, ooh! I'm indian (by ethnicity, not nationality) and we have an entire shelf or two devoted to indian books, because my mother reads them a lot. I read A Suitable Boy when I was 15 and it was great, but I haven't read it since (maybe I should, I think the politics went a bit over my head a the time). It certainly wasn't the first I've read, and there are a lot we own that I still haven't read, including The White Tiger, The Glass Palace, Brick Lane (does that count?), Six Suspects...etc etc. A few I really like are The Inscrutable Americans (really funny - I recommend if you want some comedy!), God of Small Things, Family Matters....

Today I bought Scorpia Rising, the latest and final Alex Rider book. Only a few pages in, but I'm excited!

Oh, I haven't thought about this for ages and now it's coming out! I'll be sure to buy it, I'm excited about reading it. It's been a while since I read the last book, and I haven't re-read the series that much, so I always forget what's happened a bit - but the books are still so enjoyable. I almost don't want it to end well for Alex because...much as he's always wanted to return to being a "normal teenager" it's difficult to imagine that happening.

His Dark Materials is certainly not just for teenagers, give it a try! If you like crime fiction, perhaps you should try China Miéville's The City and The City, which is....well fantasy, I guess, but the story has crime elements and it's set in a world like ours but with one specific city being the basis of a fantastical phenomenon. It's difficult for me to explain, but read it and you'll understand!

Hello! Welcome to the forum! I really like Rebecca, by Daphne DuMaurier, and Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry....hoping to get my hands on a World Book Night copy of A Fine Balance to read and pass on....

I'm currently reading The Well of Lost Plots, and enjoying it. However, it can be a bit like reading A Clockwork Orange, half the words are made up! I really liked The Eyre Affair, but I'm not sure I enjoyed the sequels as much, because in a sense, you almost know what to expect...and even though the literary references (both subtle and overt) are a delight to come across, I do sometimes feel like I'm being battered over the head with them.

Not really sure that this counts, but the last book I remember reading which I described as "disturbing" was We Need To Talk About Kevin...

Just finished it... I think I felt the same way about the characters. It was a good book, and by the end the characters felt quite real....but they just weren't doing much for me, it just wasn't my kind of book, I think.

Hello, Mike! I can't say I've ever met someone who loves reading but can't/won't because of the trials of a physical book. What are you reading at the moment?

Hi everyone I've recently taken over the biggest His Dark Materials and Philip Pullman website on the internets, and we could do with some new members/visitors! The site is a place for fans to get up-to-date news, reviews and information, discuss the books, and create a community; we have a forum and chat and it would good to see some Pullman fans from bcf over there! So if anyone's interested, get over to BridgeToTheStars.net, we're relaunching and rebuilding the website at the moment, so some of the website is in construction, but we have some really exciting things planned so hopefully some people might be interested

Just started reading One Day, by David Nicholls. Hopefully it'll be good! I've been avoiding spoilers/reviews, but my mother said she'd heard/read favourable reviews, and my friend said it was good.

Finished London, and wrote my thoughts on it so thought I'd paste them here There aren't actually any spoilers, just put it under the spoiler tag for length.

I started London a couple of months ago, and I can't believe it's taken me so long to read it. I found that I kept reading it in stops and starts...for a while I'd rush through great chunks of it, and then stop for a bit. Currently, I'm nearing the end...it's been a great journey getting there. Have about a hundred or so pages left, I think - so may come back and review it once I read that! I feel like London often tends to exist as its own entity compared to the rest of the country, and it's always interesting reading about familiar places. What's it like for non-Londoners reading it? Does anyone know how his other books compare to London?

I'm looking forward to this; I hope it's good! Have set it to record...the first episode this Saturday is about "The Hero", starting off with Sherlock Holmes...

I read the book due to its recent film incarnation. The book was good (I'm a huge Wilde lover, though I prefer the plays to this novel), the film was awful. Though I think my friends and I suspected as much before we went; we tottered along for the eye candy mainly. I kept laughing during it in the cinema (I have an unfortunate habit of doing this at inappropriate times) and at the climax of the film I had an uncontrollable giggling fit, during which I think the entire cinema managed to hear me splutter the words "but he looks like Voldemort"...

It was definitely a joke, I promise! ....hopefully.

Haha, I do that too! If I can't see the cover I surreptitiously try to read snippets of the book to see if it's one I've read. I'm not sure why, I suppose I'm a curious person. I've only ever started a conversation with a random stranger because they're reading a particular book once or twice.

More likely the forthcoming Catcher In The Rye film (starring Zac Efron) probably went into pre-production before Salinger's body was even cold...